NCAA Women's Tournament: Regional Breakdown

March 12, 2012|By MIKE ANTHONY and JOHN ALTAVILLA, manthony@courant.com, The Hartford Courant

The final Associated Press regular season women's basketall poll has Baylor (34-0) No. 1, which is where it has been the whole season. But will they be there when the NCAA tournament ends? They are the top seed heading into postseason play; AP says only eight teams have gone from start to finish at No. 1 with UConn doing it four times. The region breakdowns:

Rhode Island Region

Get to know No. 1: UConn (29-4) is the No. 1 seed and seems to be playing like one again after back-to-back wins over St. John's and Notre Dame in the Big East tournament. It is a veteran NCAA program with seven national championships and four straight Final Four appearances. If there is a downside, it may be its youth. They have just one senior and Tiffany Hayes enters the tournament with a stress injury to the top of her right foot. She is listed as probable for the first-round game Saturday against Prairie View A&M. The Huskies also have very little depth in the post after sophomore Stefanie Dolson.

Cinderella: If you're for the equivalent of Butler or Virginia Commonwealth in this women's bracket, look no further than No. 9 Princeton (24-4), the first Ivy League team ranked in AP's Top 25. The Tigers are No. 24. And Green Bay (30-1) has had a remarkable season, as poised and accomplished as any team in the nation. Should either of these two get into the Regional final in Rhode Island next weekend, it will make for a great story.

Best first-round matchup: No. 6 Rutgers (22-9) plays No. 11 Gonzaga (26-5) and has to go all the way to Spokane, Wash., to do so. This is not going to make Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer very happy. But the Scarlet Knights, an up-and-down team, fell victim to one of the strangest scheduling quirks in the bracket and may find they went a long way for no reason.

The buzz: Below UConn rest a number of teams with very similar makeups. No. 2 Kentucky (25-6), which played so well in the SEC this season, also features UConn transfer Samarie Walker, which could make a potential Elite 8 game interesting to watch since she did not leave Storrs in good favor. No. 3 Miami, an athletic ACC team, No. 4 Penn State (24-6), and No. 5 LSU (22-10), while not what it was during its Final Four glory era with Sylvia Fowles, all bring largesse to the bracket and could give UConn a run for its title.

Fresno Region

Get to know No. 1: Stanford (31-1) lost to UConn Nov. 21 and has not lost since. The Cardinal carries a school-record 28-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament and its quest for a fifth consecutive Final Four appearance. The Ogwumike sisters – Nnemkadi and Chiney – lead the team up front. Nnemkadi averages 21.8 points and 10.5 rebounds, Chiney 15.8 and 10.3.

Cinderella: No. 5 South Carolina. Three-time Olympian Dawn Staley has her best team in her fourth season with the Gamecocks, who lost in the SEC semifinals to Tennessee. South Carolina, with a stellar perimeter game, could get some momentum going in the first round against Eastern Michigan, then perhaps in the second round against No. 4 Purdue. Then, who knows?

Best first-round matchup: No. 7 Vanderbilt vs. No. 10 Middle Tennessee State. Middle Tennessee State (26-6) would have been seeded higher if it weren't for an overtime loss to Arkansas-Little Rock in the Sun Belt Conference championship game that snapped its 20-game winning streak. Vanderbilt (22-9), just by being in the SEC, played plenty of ranked opponents and had an up-and-down season.

The buzz: Which St. John's team will show up? The one that ended UConn's 99-game home winning streak or the one that was blasted by the Huskies in the Big East tournament? Maybe those matchups actually had more to do with how UConn played. Still, St. John's has shown it has the players to put a scare into anyone. The third-seeded Red Storm opens with Creighton. … Sherri Coale and Oklahoma are in the field for the 13th consecutive year. … Duke is the No. 2 seed for the third consecutive year.

Raleigh Region

Get to know No. 1: Notre Dame (30-3) swept the regular season series with UConn and lost to the Huskies in the Big East tournament championship game. The Irish's only other losses were at Baylor and at home to West Virginia. Skylar Diggins led Notre Dame with 17 points a game and has 189 assists – more than twice as many as any teammate. Natalie Novosel is another perimeter killer. The Irish are a No. 1 seed for the first time since 2001, when they won the national title.

Cinderella: No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles are the Atlantic Sun champions, which brought them little competition and little recognition. Still, Florida Gulf Coast played 31 games and won 29. The Eagles have won 21 in a row and 29 of 30 since an opening loss at Seton Hall. They have not faced a ranked opponent all season, but could if they get by No. 5. St. Bonaventure in the first round. Fourth-seeded and No. 15 Georgia would likely await in the second round.